College football in Ireland
| Aer Lingus College Football Classic | |
|---|---|
| Stadium | Aviva Stadium |
| Location | Dublin, Ireland |
| Previous stadiums | Lansdowne Road Croke Park |
| Operated | 1988–89, 1996, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2022–24 |
| Former names | |
Croke Park Classic Emerald Isle Classic Shamrock Classic | |
| 2023 matchup | |
| Navy 3, Notre Dame 42 | |
| 2024 matchup | |
| Georgia Tech 24, Florida State 21 | |
College football in Ireland began initially in 1988 as part of a promotional campaign to mark the Dublin millennium celebrations. Initially known as the Emerald Isle Classic, it was the "first major" NCAA-sanctioned American college football game played in Europe. The first games were played, at Lansdowne Road in Dublin, in 1988 and 1989.
The event was first proposed and arranged by Aidan J. Prendergast and Jim O'Brien. Prendergast, who was a former president of the Irish American Football Association conceived the idea of bringing a major NCAA game to Ireland in the mid-1980s and started pitching the idea on both sides of the Atlantic. Prendergast promoted both the 1988 and 1989 games.
Also previously known as the Shamrock Classic, from 2016 the event was marketed as the Aer Lingus College Football Classic.